Tuesday, March 18, 2008

This Is Not Your Father's Hammer Films

This has been out there for a while now, so some of you may already know that Britain's legendary Hammer horror studio has been revived and is releasing its first new movie in 30 years. I came across the new trailer earlier today, so I thought I'd share it.

The film is called Beyond the Rave, and unlike earlier Hammer releases which were traditionally period pieces, the movie takes place in the present day, placing blood-sucking vampires amidst Ecstasy-addled ravers.

It's certainly a break from such classics as Horror of Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein and Kiss of the Vampire, but Hammer CEO Simon Oakes, who bought the company last year, insists that the studio must change with the times if it expects to get back into the production business.

"We have an opportunity to recalibrate the DNA of Hammer Films for the MySpace generation," said Oakes in a press release. Because, as everyone knows, the 1950s and 60s was the Victorian era.

I'm willing to give the flick the benefit of the doubt, but really, how long can this pandering to an increasingly infantilized demographic continue? It's a vicious, self-sustaining cycle. I'm a member of Generation X, and I'm one of many who grew up loving Hammer movies. What's with all the spoon-feeding that goes on these days?

OK, now that I've gotten that out of the way, I really am interested to see what Hammer 2.0 is capable of. Beyond the Rave will air in five-minute installments on MySpace beginning April 17, and then will be released to DVD. Included in the cast is the once quintessential Hammer babe Ingrid Pitt, who, in a sad commentary on the inexorable march of time, plays the mother of one of the main characters.

I agree that there's absolutely nothing wrong period films, and maybe Hammer are making a mistake going all modern on us.

BTW, is The Wicker Man really a Hammer film? I love that movie but I never thought it was Hammer.... I thought To The Devil A Daughter was the last movie they made before moving into TV... Hammer House of Horror, by the way, is not all period either.

As an aside, didn't you think John McNaughton's episode in the first Masters of Horror was a complete homage to Hammer?

Which horror film *should* be remade?

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I've been fascinated with horror ever since my parents let me watch The Exorcist at 8 years old (what were they thinking??) and I ran up to my bed screaming when Linda Blair's eyes rolled into the back of her head.Although it often gets a bad rap from "mainstream" critics and audiences alike, horror has often been the most creative and vibrant movie genre of all, from Nosferatu to Saw. Some of the finest motion pictures ever made are part of the horror genre, including Frankenstein, Psycho, The Shining and my personal all-time favorite, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead.This blog is the culmination of my 25-year love affair with all things blood and guts--so check back here often for news and opinion on the world of horror. And remember...